Please join us in asking Chief Medical Examiner Wagner to re-open an investigation into Rowan’s death. Your letters can be sent to:

Chief Medical Examiner Wagner

5570 Overland Ave.
Suite 101
San Diego, CA 92123-1206

or call: (858) 694-2895

Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman

Headquarters
1401 Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: (619) 531-2000

June 27, 2014

Dear Chief Medical Examiner Wagner,

Our two-year old son Rowan was killed during an outpatient diagnostic procedure whilst under the care of physicians at Rady Children’s Hospital division of pediatric cardiology. Your office’s representative was quick to determine that his death did not warrant further investigation, a decision that I firmly believe was incredibly premature and incorrect.

Our own subsequent research has led us to the objective conclusion that Rowan was killed, not due to a “Pre-existing condition” as stated in his post mortem medical records and on his death certificate, but due to gross negligence on the part of his anesthesiologist (Dr Kathleen Kaya) and primary cardiologist (Dr Raymond Fripp).

The information about the details of Rowan’s negligent care has been actively suppressed by others at Rady’s, including the Chief of Cardiology Dr John Moore and the head of quality assurance Dr Irvin Kaufman. This includes, but is not limited to: misrepresenting the primary reason for performing the procedure that led to Rowan’s death in the post mortem medical records (namely identification of coronary artery stenosis by CT scan) and withholding of documents which reveal this negligence.

Each of Rowan’s physicians repeatedly failed to provide the necessary and easily available information on anesthetic risk for children like Rowan, making it impossible for our family to provide informed consent for any anesthetic procedure. Rowan’s anesthesiologist, Dr Kathleen Kaya also agreed to a written statement that she was “well versed in the anesthetic risk associated with William’s Syndrome” before we allowed her to have Rowan under her care. Consequently, general anesthesia was administered to Rowan under grossly negligent and substandard conditions that were far below the reported standard of care for children with William’s Syndrome. It is this fact that led directly to Rowan’s death, not the presence of a pre-existing condition.

Despite written assurances from Dr Donald Kearns and Dr Irvin Kaufman that an independent external review of Rowan’s death would be performed, no such review has ever been initiated, and we have received no further communication from anyone at Rady Children’s hospital.

I ask that you re-open your investigation into the criminal medical negligence that led to Rowan’s death at the earliest opportunity. It is now a matter of public record that there is a culture of silence and denial of responsibility within the medical community in San Diego. Do not let this continue, and let other families suffer the loss of a child and the pain of being denied the details of a loved one’s death.

I hope to hear from you regarding your department’s investigation into my son’s death immediately upon receipt of this letter.

Our greatest wish was to be a part of a community where we felt safe. Our intention is to help fill the gap in the community where Rowan was left behind.

We are thankful that the Williams Syndrome Association website was updated today (May 21, 2014). Though too late to avoid our family’s loss, we hope that another family will benefit from this information.

Rowan was killed at a renowned children’s hospital as a direct result of the careless and unnecessary use of general anesthesia for a “routine” outpatient diagnostic procedure .. against his mother’s wishes.

Want to help make a difference? Visit How To Take Action to speak out against medical negligence and special needs discrimination in healthcare.
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